Domaine de la Romanée Conti Montrachet Grand Cru

2015

WA 96: The 2015 Montrachet Grand Cru is still predictably youthful, unfurling in the glass with aromas of crisp Anjou pear, buttered citrus, tangerine oil and a prominent framing of very classy new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, multidimensional and concentrated, both satiny and textural without being remotely unctuous, and underpinned by succulent, even tangy acids. At this stage, where the wine really shows its pedigree is in its extraordinarily long, oak-inflected finish. Given the vintage, one might have expected more ripeness and drama, but the domaine is picking its Montrachet a bit earlier these days, and that has done it no harm at all in 2015. It would be interesting to taste this wine alongside Ramonet's example, which is both more textural and less overtly oaky, but my sense is that the two are on the same qualitative level in their very different styles.

2014

BH 96: A whiff of the exotic can be found on the notably ripe and beautifully layered nose that reflects notes of honey, citrus, spice, oak and a touch of matchstick character. There is superb size, weight and minerality to the impressevely scaled big-bodied flavours that are so dense that are distinctly lavish and lush mouthfeel to them, all wrapped in an explosive and almost painfully intense finish that really fans out as it sits on the palate.

2005

BH 98: Not much time has passed between my last tasting of this wine that appeared in Issue 31 and this most recent bottle so my note is essentially unchanged: An opulent, ripe and moderately oaked in-your-face nose explodes from the glass, bringing incredibly complex and layered aromas that run from floral, citrus, spice and a full range of white and yellow fruit notes that complement to perfection the lush, rich and amazingly concentrated broad-scaled flavors that are underpinned by an intense minerality and a palate staining finish of simply unbelievable length. At this young stage, this is a massive Montrachet that is long on power and muscle and while it's not as elegant as say the 2000, 2002 or 2004 versions, I believe that the refinement one typically finds in this wine will come in time. In sum, for sheer vinous fireworks, this is hard to beat and to call it a "wow" wine would be a considerable understatement. However, note that plenty of time will be required and it will be one of the longest-lived vintages in recent memory. A great, great effort. Note however that I have recently had three bottles (twice in November 2016 and again in April 2018) that did evidence slight notes of premature oxidation; they were drinkable but not what they should have been.